Nursery World - EYFS Activities: physical development on a budget

In a new series on using the home environment to develop physical skills, Dr Lala Manners considers the child’s first playground

Floors, both inside and outside, are a free resource with many physical and emotional benefits for children

Floors should be considered as lifelong supportive friends to our bodies. Far from encouraging ‘regressive’ behaviour, they provide an invaluable resource from birth onwards that promotes smooth physical development and overall health and wellbeing.

WHY ARE FLOORS IMPORTANT FOR CHILDREN?

From very early in life, floors can offer safe spaces in which all things physical may be practised, investigated, challenged and refined. Floors are often called the child’s ‘first playground’ or ‘place of work’, and with good reason. This free resource offers a range of opportunities to explore physical boundaries, to engage with interesting materials, and it is where children begin to form a concrete sense of themselves in the environment. Being on the floor should always be a positive experience and not viewed as a means of punishment or control.

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